Articles by Ivan Osorio
The Conspiracy to Deny the Poor Mobility—and Opportunity
Mobility is prosperity—a fact that humans have recognized since the dawn of civilization, when population centers arose next to navigable waterways. Yet this simple fact seems to evade many pundits, environmental activists—and even screenwriters. Screenwriters? Yes
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Unions Grasp for Influence Over Private Equity
Mention the names of certain large corporations, and many people think bad things—from ExxonMobil gouging drivers with high gas prices to Wal-Mart destroying city downtowns by undercutting mom-and-pop shops. Sound familiar? That's because these companies have been
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Speaking in Tongues
In Monty Python's classic "Hungarian Phrasebook" sketch, a Hungarian tourist walks into a British tobacconist's shop, and, consulting a faulty phrasebook, tells the clerk, "I will not buy this record, it is scratched." The clerk, looking confused, responds, "Uh, no
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Russia's Godfather Saga
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," was the lesson taught to Michael Corleone by his father Vito in the Godfather movies. It's something Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently also took to heart when he chose to keep the...
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The Politicization of Public Companies
Are institutional investors taking over the world? Maybe not, but their importance in the public policy arena is growing, enough for the Federalist Society -- you know, the conservative legal cabal of which liberals speak in hushed tones --...
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One, Two, Many Broken Windows
Albert Einstein is often attributed with defining insanity as doing the same over and over, hoping to achieve different results. Another possible definition is seeing one thing and describing it as its exact opposite -- with the corollary that to...
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Will the Real Hernando de Soto Please Stand Up?
Stop the presses! Hernando de Soto is harming the poor! So argues John Gravois, a reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education, in a recent Slate article. Gravois sets out to debunk the man he considers "the patron saint of...
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Tort Law 'to Make Law'
A recent little-noticed New York Times story says a great deal about America's current legal climate: The lawsuit culture is not only taking a toll on American business -- it poses a serious threat to representative government. The July...
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A Russian Revolution
On December 2, 2003, Andrei Illarionov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief economic adviser, stunned green activists the world over when, speaking on behalf of the President, he announced that Russia would not ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change...
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